Fading Glory

By Cal Cook

I wonder, looking out into the faces of the people each Sunday, how many have truly experienced the Lord in a life changing way? In a transfiguring way, where who they are has been shaken to the core? I have seen changes in many over the last six years…in others, not so much. Does my seeing or not seeing really indicate anything?
The account in Exodus has me a bit bewildered today wondering about what we see in the faces of others…why exactly did Moses veil his face? Was it because the people were truly afraid? Was it so they would listen to the word from the Lord and not be distracted by his face? Did he do this for the next 40 years, living with his face veiled as they wandered in the wilderness?
Then when you read what Paul has to say: 2 Corinthians3:13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. I gain some insight. Depending on your translation this passage sounds as if Paul is saying the veil was so the Israelites would not look while the radiance was fading away. This to me is consistent with what we read in Exodus:
Exodus 3:34-35 But whenever he entered the LORD's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.
So even with Moses, who stood before the Lord’s Presence so his face radiated from the encounter…even with him the affect didn’t last? Is it any wonder I don’t see it on the faces of those who are there on Sunday morning? I know from my own personal experience after an Emmaus or Kairos or Epiphany weekend I am beaming with the Love of Christ. Even to the point of hugging everyone I meet! Yet just days later, the affect has faded. Did I forget, did the weird looks and pullbacks from my hugs harden my heart?
Paul speaks of a hardness of mind and heart for those with the veil. It’s almost as if having Moses and the Law between them and God is what they desire…a buffer if you will. That somehow that distance allows them to justify themselves to themselves…they are only doing what Moses told them to do! Even when they fail to keep the commandments they have the Sacrificial System established under the Law to justify them.
That distance, that means of justifying our actions prevent us from seeking His face. If I’m OK the way I am then why do I need God? If God is just a list of do’s and do not’s then why would I desire to be close to Him? It’s only after experiencing His presence in a real way that we can even fathom what He is like…pure love, pure light…beaming with Glory. Even being near His presence changes us in real and visible ways…yet the distance causes it to fade.
Do some people think that once was enough? I remember a good friend sharing his God encounter with me…sadly he saw it as a once in a lifetime experience. Maybe it was…but what if it wasn’t intended to be? What if God’s intention was for us to get a glimpse of His Glory and desire more? What if His desire is for us to seek His face all the time…isn’t that what His Word says?
2 Corinthians 3:18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
I pray that you and I will remember that the veil has been removed. That it is God’s desire for us to seek Him, to want to be like Him and reflect His Glory…even as it fades.